One Fatal Mistake
by Blackspeed-Mistress
Summary: After the ARK incident, Sonic, Shadow, and the gang find themselves stuck in one of the craziest adventures. Not only does it deal with the emeralds, it deals with heaven and the underworld! First fic, R&R! ~Chapter 7 in!~
1. I'll be losing you before long...

Author's note: This is my first Sonic fanfic so don't expect much. This fic is like an experiment. If people like it, I'll continue. Oh, and there's a few spoilers ahead. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!!! Let's get down to business! Please R&R!  
Blackspeed_Mistress  
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Disclaimer: If you think I own SA2, you're crazy! All I own is Marika, Bradley Robotnik and the story plot.  
  
One Fatal Mistake  
  
  
Pain. Indescribable pain. The smell of his fur scorching sickened him to no extent. Blood trickled from his wounds as he fell. He tried not to think about the intense wounds. How ironic. He wanted to destroy the world only to sacrifice his life to save it. He smirked despite the pain. Blackness surrounded him as his super form let out.   
"Maria... this is what you wanted, right? This is the promise I made to you..." Shadow whispered. He swore he heard a sweet, angelic voice cry out.  
"Shadow! No!"  
"Maria..."  
A bright flash of light enveloped Shadow. His body and mind went numb. He felt nothing anymore.  
Nothing.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
The group waited for the two heroes to make an entrance. Sonic came inside. Realizing something's missing, Rouge spoke up.  
"Where's Shadow?"   
Sonic shook his head and handed Rouge Shadow's bracelet. Everyone was stunned.  
Rouge softly questioned. "Do you think Professor Gerald created him, Shadow, to carry out the revenge to all of those on Earth?"   
"He was what he was. A brave and heroic hedgehog who gave his life to save the planet. Shadow the hedgehog..."  
"I guess you're right."  
  
Eggman was staring into space, his mind filled with shock of the previous events.   
"As a child, I looked up to my grandfather for all of the great things he accomplished. He was my idol and I wanted to be just like him. But did he really mean to destroy us?" He wondered aloud. Tails shrugged it off.  
"I don't know. But what I DO know is that we all did it together!" Eggman chuckled.  
"We did."  
  
"So what now Rouge? Off to find those jewels you love so much?" Knuckles asked his rival. Rouge shook her head.  
"Nah. I'm quitting. Too much work for too little pay." She smiled. "Besides, I'm thinking of something better than jewels right now. It'll all work out. You'll see."  
"If you say so."  
  
Sonic glanced at the Earth through his window. It was so calm, peaceful. Almost as if the ARK incident never existed. Fat chance of the humans going to be like that Sonic wryly thought. They will probably praise the group except Eggman and "that black hedgehog" who they had mistaken with theirs truly. Thinking of Shadow made him grimace. He could have saved him!   
Who was he really? How was he connected to ARK? Why did he help out? What made him try to destroy the world like Professor Gerald had wanted? Was he really the ultimate lifeform?  
"Create...the ultimate lifeform..." he murmured. Amy stood beside him.  
"What's wrong Sonic?" The blue blur shook the questions out of his head.  
"Nothing. Come on! Let's go home to the planet that's as cool and blue as me!" Everyone silently agreed and left the room. Sonic, being the last, looked around the cold, steel room.  
"Sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog." He said and walked out of the room.  
  
Oh yes, the irony of it all.  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
"No! I won't let this happen!" she cried as she watched the scene. No way is she going to sit here and watch! She got him into this mess, and she will get him out. ALIVE. No one, not even GOD, will stop her. If she gets stuck, at least she tried. If it means not returning to paradise again, so be it. She sprinted to the direction of the gate as fast as her skirt allowed. After a few quick thoughts of how to exit without being seen, she decided there wasn't enough time. She passed by the guards, pushed open the gate, and teleported right where she wanted to be.  
"Maria! I have great news!" An old man of around 50 appeared. He glanced around.   
"Maria?"  
He finally caught sight of what his granddaughter had been looking at. In the middle of the yard showed an image of Shadow the Hedgehog falling through the atmosphere of Earth.  
"Darn it! I knew I shouldn't have kept that blasted biolizard!"  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
"Shadow..." he heard a faint whisper. Everything was so blurry. He couldn't fight his tired mind.  
"Shadow! Wake up!" The voice grew stronger and more panicked. It sounded familiar, but right now all he could think about was a nice, deep sleep.  
"Shadow! Please, don't do this to me! Please!" The voice cried. Shadow slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a black void. Beside him was a blonde haired, blue-eyed angel. Her thin form kneeled by his side. Red eyes met blue as they searched for answers. The black hedgehog desperately hugged Maria. Careful of his quills, his angel gently wrapped her arms around him. They stayed that way for a little while longer, enjoying each other's company.   
"Shadow," Maria whispered. "Do you know what's happening to you right now?"  
He nodded his head.  
"I'm dying, aren't I?"  
Maria winced at his sentence. He shifted his position so he could look into her eyes. They were filled with unshed tears.  
"You will be soon. That's why I came here." Her voice was shaky and quiet as she continued.  
"I want you to live. You must not give up!"  
Shadow was shocked and confused. Had he not fulfilled his promise? What was worth living for now?  
"But I have nothing to live for! Maria, just let me be with you!" He pleaded. His angel broke into tears.  
"I can't! I couldn't stand it if you died! You never had a chance to actually live! Please Shadow, if you won't do it for yourself, live for your friends' sakes!"   
His own eyes started to have tears. "Ok Maria. I promise I'll live."   
Shadow hugged her only to find out that his hands passed through. Shadow looked in horror as Maria slowly became translucent. Maria stared at her fading hands.  
"Oh no. They found me..." Shadow's mind panicked.  
"No! Maria, don't leave me!" Maria kissed the silently weeping hedgehog on the forehead as best she could.   
"I'm sorry Shadow. I promise we'll meet again." She said before she disappeared from view.  
"MARIA!!!!!!!!"  
Shadow didn't know which came first, the searing pain or the heat, but the experience altogether made him pass out.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Sonic and co. headed out of the space shuttle to meet the cheering crowd outside. They had acted exactly as he predicted. The president led them to a small stage with a podium. Eggman was cuffed and taken to a G.U.N. security van. Of course, that didn't last long as Eggman broke the cuffs via laser and made a flashy exit with his walker. Nevertheless, the celebration continued. The president stepped up to the podium.  
  
"Citizens of Earth, we award Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles 'Tails' Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Rouge the Bat, and Amy Rose for saving this world from the terrible incident a few moments ago. Sonic, we apologize for mistaking you for the thief who stole the chaos emerald. We will make sure that once he is caught, he will be punished severely. Would you do the honors of a speech?"  
  
The president stepped aside as the azure hedgehog came forward. Tails had noticed the angry gleam in Sonic's eyes. This wasn't going to go too well.  
  
"As much as I like to get attention, that 'thief' was the one who REALLY saved your lives. All we did was help out a little! Don't go looking for him either; He's dead. Shadow fell through the atmosphere. It's probably BEST if Shadow wasn't here right now so he wouldn't have to be treated like a criminal! Giving me this medal tells me that I'm being awarded for killing Shadow and taking all the credit! That's right, Sonic the Hedgehog didn't save someone! He was right next to me! But nooooo, stupid me didn't think he would fall! So you can keep your crummy medal! I'm outta here!"  
  
And with that, the world-renowned hero could be seen jolting down the road.  
  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Author's note: So... how was it? Good? Bad? Craptacular? A start? Something? R&R to tell me! This is Blackspeed_Mistress signing out! 


	2. Run, Run, As Fast As You Can!

Author's Note: People like it? That's good, cause I decided to write regardless if no one liked it. I haven't seen everyone else's reviews yet either. Don't mind me, I tend to get a little off track. Here's the next chapter as promised!   
Blackspeed_Mistress  
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Disclaimer: I have a little song for you.  
Mary had a little story,  
Little story,  
Little story,  
Mary had a little story,  
And got sued cause the characters weren't hers! None of the characters are mine except for Marika, who will be introduced in this chapter, and Bradley Robotnik. Don't try stealing them.  
  
One Fatal Mistake  
  
Everything had been a normal routine before this happened. Usually all she would have to do is grocery shop, do her daily chores, and go outside to play. But now it's run, hide, run, hide, and try your best to survive. The blue-green furred cat jealously watched people go by. She pulled back a few strands of turquoise hair out of her eyes. Readjusting her knee length skirt, she stood up and walked from the small park.   
  
"Might as well go home." She muttered under her breath. "No point sitting there for them to find you."   
  
And she would have left if it weren't for the whistling noise coming from above. Her cat ears twitched to the sound as she found herself staring at a fireball a couple yards in front of her. It crashed into the ground with a BANG and left a decent sized hole. She peered into it, finding a mangled up form of a hedgehog. She jumped into the hole and checked the form's pulse. By the looks of it, it was a hedgehog who went through World War II and back.   
  
"Oh dear..."  
  
The cat lifted the mysterious hedgehog up from to smoldering crater. He was a mess! Scorch marks covered his body, he was covered in blood so much that she couldn't tell if his fur was black or crimson. His ribs were broken, most likely by the fall. The only thing that seemed undamaged was his shoes, his gloves, and his bracelets. She took her own bracelet off to compare. They same golden contrast, only hers had archaic symbols engraved in it.  
"Enough playing around! I have to get this guy to the hospital!" She scolded herself. The stressed cat clasped the bracelet around her wrist and half carried half dragged the unconscious hedgehog down the deserted highway. His spines cut into her arms from carrying him the wrong way. All was going semi-well, until THEY came.  
  
"Freeze! Surrender to G.U.N., cat, or else!" A voice boomed from in front of them. She gritted her teeth and looked back. G.U.N. soldiers were chasing them! She picked the injured hedgehogs legs and ran as fast as she could.  
"Damn you G.U.N.! Leave us the hell alone!" She shrieked to the pursuing soldiers. If she hadn't been carrying a wounded person, she would have torn them apart. Today was NOT the best day to piss her off.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
If you were outside, you could see Sonic the Hedgehog walking down the street. Which wasn't normal. Far from normal. They didn't call him the blue blur for nothing.   
  
Then again, if you lived there, this whole WEEK wasn't normal. It isn't every day that you have a secret space colony falling on you. Nor having part of the moon be blown up. They're used to it by now. That's life. But to Sonic the Hedgehog, it's another story.  
  
Walking wasn't one of his best pastimes. Most times it was quite the opposite. But right now, he needed to sort his thoughts out. Had he really killed Shadow? The burning in his eyes told him that tears were on their way. He did, didn't he?! Shadow was right by him, and he knew that his ring supply would be gone! And without a second thought, he left Shadow to die! The azure hedgehog curled his fists up in rage. Some hero he was!   
  
But then, he didn't know Shadow would fall, did he? He had no idea Shadow was that drained. He insisted he was fine when he really wasn't. And Sonic believed him. So it wasn't his fault. Sonic relaxed and sighed in frustration. Now he was thinking too much.  
  
A sudden noise of gunshots and a harsh push snapped him back into reality. A blue-green cat whizzed past him holding a very burnt, very bloody, very beaten Shadow the Hedgehog. Following behind them were G.U.N. officers.   
  
G.U.N. plus Shadow equal bad. Even he knew that. He sprang into action, homing attacking the officers first. By the time he was done, the cat and Shadow were out of view.   
  
But the blood wasn't.  
  
So he followed the trail. It led him to the panting cat. She caught sight of him and turned around. Sonic could see that Shadow's blood soaked into her sky blue shirt and matted into some of her hair. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.  
  
"Look," she hissed. "I don't care what you told the guards, I have to get this guy to the hospital. Now." Sonic glanced at Shadow for a split second and made up his mind.  
"Give him to me. I run faster."  
The cat nodded and carefully slipped Shadow into Sonic's arms. But before she could back away, Sonic grabbed her arm and dashed to the hospital.  
  
All she could do was look on in amazement as the world rushed by her. All of the colors seemed to have blend together. All of it seemed to make her head spin. It stopped as soon as it started. Feeling dizzy, she sat on the ground. The blue hedgehog pulled her up again and ran into the lobby. The receptionist saw how injured he was and decided it was enough for immediate medical attention. The surgeons carried Shadow out on a stretcher.   
  
The blue hedgehog sighed in relief and turned to her.   
  
"Hey, what's you're name?" He asked. She hesitated. Was he really trustful? Her blue-green eyes narrowed again.  
  
"Will you tell G.U.N.?" He shook his head.  
"Nah. I'm on your side. I owe ya one anyways." She relaxed and sat in one of the chairs.   
"I'm Marika. And you are...?" The blue hedgehog grinned and held out his hand.  
"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" He replied. Marika shook his hand with an amused look on her face.  
"So this is the famous hero who saved the world from the Eclipse cannon, eh?"   
Sonic nervously scratched the back of his head.  
"Well, I didn't save the world myself. Shadow helped a lot." He paused to think about her sentence. "Wait, how do you know about the Eclipse Cannon? Did Shadow tell you?"  
Marika blinked.  
"Who's Shadow?"  
"You weren't at the awards ceremony, were you?" She shook her head.  
"Shadow's the guy you carried before you ran into me." He explained. Worry began to creep into his mind.  
"I hope he's gonna be ok. Now, how do you know about the Eclipse Cannon?" He repeated. Marika gave a sly smile.  
"I have my ways."   
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Maria Robotnik! Of all souls in this realm, I wouldn't have expected YOU to break the code!" An auburn haired angel scolded. She wore a white robe with white dress shoes. Her hair was braided and put in a bun. Her brown eyes pierced into Maria's.   
"Do you know what might have happened to you if the demons found you? To that hedgehog of yours? We're lucky we found you before they did! What have you got to say for yourself?"  
"I..." She began. Remembering Shadow's face when she left gave her enough guilt. Now Ms. Faith is saying that demons could have possessed him too?! Her eyes started to water.  
"Ms. Faith, I had to! Shadow would have died if I didn't go!"  
"And what makes you think he won't die now?" She asked. Maria held back her tears.  
"He promised me he would live."  
"Child, I don't see how a promise will work. You may go now." The girl bowed and left. She ruffled her wings in frustration.  
"You were too hard on her, Faith." A silky voice said behind her.  
"We can't have spirits wandering around as they choose, Rapture." She replied. Rapture moved in front of her. She had a light pink gown on with high heels. Her waist length hair was tied in a ponytail by two small braids. Her skin was pale, almost a chalk color.  
"It wouldn't have mattered anyway. The girl would have done anything to get there."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Maria! I was so worried! Ms. Faith told me what happened!" Professor Gerald exclaimed as he hugged his granddaughter. Maria hugged him back.  
"Sorry, grandpa."  
"That's okay my dear. The blasted contraction finally works!" He said as they entered the house. His granddaughter's eyes lit up.  
"It does?!"  
"I tried it on a squirrel this morning. The little critter was back safe and sound! Unfortunately he was in the middle of the highway and became road kill again. But all we need to do is figure out the coordinates!"  
  
And for the first time today, Maria smiled.  
  
  
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Author's Note: There ya go! As said before, how is it? Oh, and a few things. The name Marika DOES have a meaning to it, and I won't tell you until later chapters. I probably won't update every day. I'll most likely update every week or something. Just don't expect to get a chapter on a given time. Bradley Robotnik will be coming in soon. I think that's about it. This is Blackspeed_Mistress signing off! 


	3. One Life With A Purpose

Author's Note: I didn't think I would get this many reviews for just starting out! You people are too kind! I've been informed that my friend Kitty-Kat is getting quite a couple of reviews for her story too. So all is well, for now. R&R if you want. To the chapter, valiant readers!  
Blackspeed_Mistress  
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Disclaimer: Oh brave and honorable readers, Sonic characters do not belong to thee! I haveth possession of Marika, Bradley Robotnik, Faith, Rapture, and Youma. Steal, and I shall kick thine arse.  
  
One Fatal Mistake  
  
A pink hedgehog skipped down the sidewalk. Her red dress swayed with each step as she merrily hummed a tune. Amy Rose had just received a medal. SHE had received a medal for helping to save the WORLD. Her proud emerald eyes glanced at the award hanging from her neck.   
  
Wait a minute, what did she do?  
  
She stopped skipping and resumed a normal pace. Her mind replayed the previous events. That's right, she released Sonic from Prison Island and convinced Shadow to be on their side.   
  
But right now, Sonic has disappeared, and Shadow is dead.  
  
Amy sighed in despair. Nothing could be done for Shadow, the poor guy. She looked at the ground in time to notice a mangled corpse of a squirrel. Inwardly cringing at the mess, she sidestepped it and continued.   
  
Sonic, he was probably running around the city. Most likely trying to forget the whole thing happened. Hopefully he would return to his normal attitude. She couldn't stand having her idol depressed. The way he acted at the ceremony was so unexpected. Almost scary. She would have to do something extra fun with him next time.   
  
Mind set, Amy Rose walked to the apartment building. She had a feeling something would happen. Something good, something bad, and something mischievous.   
  
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Tails thanked the auto mechanic and hauled the Cyclone inside the garage. Being a hero sure has its advantages! The garage, their hotel rooms, everything was free. They could probably have anything they wanted! The young kitsune glanced back at the small auto repair shop. Where are they going to put the cars they need fixed now? Tails felt a small tinge of guilt. He needed a place to keep his mech while Sonic and him were on vacation. The vacation didn't go as planned, but at least they can enjoy the rest of the time. Maybe. Try to at least. Sonic didn't seem like he was going to enjoy it.   
  
On the contrary, Sonic most likely hated his vacation.  
  
He shook the thoughts out of his head and started towards the hotel. On his way to his room, a maid stopped him.  
"Miles Tails Prower?" She inquired. Tails nodded.  
"I have a message for you. From Sonic the hedgehog."  
She preceded to hand Tails the note. He read it while continuing on to his room.  
  
Tails,  
  
Meet me in the lobby of Christine Chappell Hospital. Now.   
It's about Shadow.  
  
Yours Truly,  
Sonic the Hedgehog  
  
The kitsune turned and fled down the hall. He passed by the receptionist who happened to have a small box in his hands.  
"Sir, I have a package for you!" He called. Tails sprinted to the carrier, swiped the box from his hands, and zoomed off.  
"Thanks!"  
  
Once outside, the fox wound his tails up and flew past the other people. He whizzed through the streets, stopping only for a small rest. His surroundings were new to him, so he had no way of knowing where to go. Sure, he knew how to get there, just not from HERE. Tails decided to ask for directions when he bumped into someone.   
  
"Ow! Hey, watch it!" the person exclaimed.  
Apologizing quickly, he looked up. It was Rouge. She carried a large, black, velvet case in her arms.  
  
"Oh, hi Tails," she greeted. "Where are you going?"  
"To Christine Chappell Hospital. Sonic's there."   
Her turquoise-shaded eyes widened, clearly surprised.  
"Do you know how to get there?" The kitsune continued. "Because I'm kind of lost."  
"I know this whole city! Just try to keep up!" The voluptuous bat winked and ran in the opposite direction. Tails flew and followed her as best he could. They soon came to a part of the city that he recognized. It was less crowded with a few apartment buildings scattered about. Amy lived closest to the street. They were only a few feet in front of the building when Rouge shrieked and stopped. Tails almost collided with her a second time.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked. Rouge pointed at the mess on the sidewalk. It was the remnants of a squirrel.  
"I almost stepped on that thing!" She cried. Tails rolled his eyes as a voice called out.  
"Hey guys!"  
Both of them glanced at the apartment building where the voice originated. Amy stood on her balcony.  
"What are you guys doing here?" She questioned. Before Tails had a chance to explain, Rouge answered for him.  
"Sonic's in the hospital." She called back. The pink hedgehog flipped.  
"SONIC'S IN THE HOSPITAL?!"  
  
And in an instant, Amy Rose was running with them. Tails started to think that they misunderstood him.  
  
"Hey, you did understand me, right?" He meekly asked. Amy nodded.  
"Tails, I know I'm a little slow, but I DO understand you!"  
  
Tails sighed and the trio rushed to the hospital. Once inside, they spotted Sonic and another cat girl soaked in blood. Amy rushed immediately to his side.  
  
"Sonic! I was SO worried about you! Rouge said you were in the hospital and we came here as fast as we could! Are you okay? Where does it hurt? Let me kiss it and-"  
"AMY!!" The embarrassed hedgehog interrupted, "I'm not the one hurt!" He glanced to the blue-green furred girl who crossed her arms.  
"So these are your friends?" She asked. Her voice sounded skeptic. Sonic gave a nervous laugh.  
"I'm sure Tails-"  
"Is right by you." The kitsune finished. The azure hedgehog looked to his left. Sure enough, his pal was standing next to him.  
"What are you doing in the hospital when you're not hurt?" Inquired the voice behind him. He recognized the voice as Rouge. The pink hedgehog finally realized the cat's blood saturated clothing.  
"Hey, are you okay?" She asked. The cat gave her a confused look.  
"Yeah, why?" Amy glanced at her clothes again as she caught on.  
"Oh! I'm fine, save the cuts on my arms. The blood is from that hedgehog." She explained.   
"Hedgehog?"  
"Shadow." Sonic clarified. The three gave him shocked looks.  
  
"Shadow?!"  
"But he-"  
"Didn't he-"  
"Fall through the atmosphere?"  
  
And he would have explained further had it not been for G.U.N. crashing in. The receptionist and a few of the nurses screamed and froze. One soldier held a walkie-talkie to his mouth.   
  
"Suspect who had been carrying Project Shadow and Sonic has been found. Assaulting now."  
  
"Project Shadow?!" Marika thought. Sure, Sonic had saved the world from Professor Gerald's wrath with a little help from the hedgehog she brought in, but now she finds out the hedgehog's Project Shadow? Her attention was diverted to the current situation.   
  
"Damn you G.U.N." She hissed. Her expression contorted to anger, she leapt on the nearby soldiers. There were about 5 of them, and she was ready to take them all on. Although she wouldn't get a shot at them all. After making a decent sized gash on the man's neck, she noticed Sonic was disarming another soldier of his weapon.   
  
She noticed another military scum grab for her. Before he could reach, she sprinted towards him, ducked, and punched him in the stomach.  
  
She sent him reeling into the wall.  
The wall gave out.  
  
The other assaulted soldiers retreated while the others looked in shock. Marika calmly walked up to the pile of rubble and smirked. Her ever-so-conscious prey was on the top.  
  
"Now do you know how it feels like?" She curtly purred. "To be trapped, nowhere to go because the dogs keep chasing you? To loose freedom like your organization did to me? And for what? What did we do for you to track us down?"  
  
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
"You can't do this!" Maria shrieked. Faith gave her a stern look. Behind her was Rapture, looking uncertain. Leaning on the house was a light blue haired lady with a black knee length dress on. Her golden eyes scanned the scene. The wind seemed to blow a bit, catching her waist length hair and her jet-black wings.   
  
"We can and we will! You aren't going to stop us, girl." The guardian retorted. She glanced at the hysterical girl, then back to the other two guardians.  
"Youma!"  
The lady straightened up. Her black boots gleamed as she walked to Faith.   
"Do it."  
"I'm on it." Came the cold reply. With sickle in hand, she disappeared from the realm. Faith gave the girl one more leer.  
"No promise you make is going to stop our jobs." She said before disappearing as well. Maria dropped to her knees and sobbed. Rapture placed an arm around her.  
  
"Maria." Her silky voice said. Maria looked up at her. The guardian's eyes looked pained, yet hopeful.  
"It's not over. Shadow's determination is enough to keep him alive. Watch." And with that, Rapture created an image of Shadow's subconscious.  
  
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Shadow awakened in the void he was all too familiar with. He stood up and searched for any life. What caught his eye was a bright flash of light. The light disappeared, leaving a light blue haired woman behind.  
"Shadow the Hedgehog, I have come to take you with me." Came her icy reply. Shadow stood there expectantly.  
"And where would we be going?" He asked. Shadow had a hunch, but he wanted to be sure.   
"I will take you to the realm of spirits."  
"That means I'll be dead."  
"Correct."  
"And what if I decline?"  
A sickle materialized in her hand.  
"Then I take you by force."  
He smirked.  
"Try and take me!" Her golden eyes narrowed.  
"I am called the grim reaper for a reason. You will not win."  
  
With amazing speed, Shadow homing attacked his enemy. She blocked and swung at him with her sickle. The hedgehog dodged by somersaulting into her. Before he hit, she flew upwards and hurled the sickle at him. It missed, crashing into the "floor", about few centimeters from Shadow's head. He quickly plucked the weapon out of the ground and ran. The guardian materialized five black feathers in each hand and threw them. They weren't normal feathers; all of them were razor sharp. One struck Shadow in the arm. He winced and chucked the sickle back to its owner. Unfortunately for her, it pierced into her wing. She fell to the ground and took the sickle out. Rage built inside, she charged at the hedgehog. He curled up into a ball and spindashed at her. Time seemed to slow down as the two passed.   
  
Both turned around, waiting for the other to fall.  
"You fight well." The guardian declared. She sank to the ground as her knees gave out. Shadow stood there with a smug look on his face.  
"Tell me," the icy voice continued, "I have seen your life. Why is it that you want to live?"  
A hard look crossed his face. His expression looked uncaring, but his pain filled eyes deceived the disguise.  
"Maria." He simply whispered.   
She got the hint and pieced the puzzle together. The girl made him promise something that he could only do while alive.  
"You have earned the right to live, Shadow the Hedgehog. I will await the day when we meet again."  
The grim reaper vanished, and Shadow fell to the ground in deep sleep.  
  
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
"Sonic the Hedgehog?" The doctor asked. Sonic anxiously nodded. The group listened intensively.  
"Your friend made it through." Sonic and the others jumped for joy.  
"YES! Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!!!!!" The hedgehog ran around the lobby like a hyperactive child. Amy hugged the nearest thing, which was Tails, with all her might. Tails didn't even mind! Rouge laughed out loud at the childish antics. Marika smiled and watched from a distance. This was turning out to be a good day after all. The doctor waited until they have calmed down a bit.  
"Also, you are permitted to see him at this time."   
  
The good man led them down the hall to Shadow's room. In Sonic's point of view, it was agonizingly slow. By the time they were there, he was about to go crazy from anxiety. The group entered Shadow's room. It was nothing special. A small dresser was to the right while a door leading to the bathroom was on the other side. The window was near Shadow's bed.   
  
Shadow himself looked like crap. Left arm was in a cast, or so he could tell. His right arm was partly bandaged. In fact, almost everything was bandaged. At least his fur was cleansed from the blood and dirt. Amy gasped in horror.  
  
"Oh my-"  
"Shhhh!" Sonic hushed. The bandaged hedgehog moaned and opened his eyes. He sat up with much difficulty.  
"Ugh...where am I?"  
Everyone crowded around his bed. Sonic first replied.  
"You're at Christine Chappell Hospital." Shadow turned his head to the azure rival.  
"Sonic?" He nodded in response. Tails was next to him.  
"We were so worried about you!"  
"Take care for now on!" Rouge said. The blue-green cat nodded and winked.  
"No more falling out of the sky, ok?" He looked down, confusion in his mind.  
"Why?"   
They looked at each other in confusion. Amy meekly spoke.  
"Because Shadow, we're your friends."  
"Yeah!" Tails agreed. "You should have seen Sonic when the President awarded our medals! He was ticked!"   
Sonic nervously laughed.  
"Well, what was I supposed to do? Take all the credit myself? Come on! I don't do that!"   
Amy pouted.  
"Oh yeah, Mr. Big Ego?"  
"Hey Tails, what's that?" Rouge asked. She pointed to the box in his arms.  
"Actually, I don't know." He mentioned while opening it. "They just gave it to me at the hotel and-" He pulled out a medal.  
"It's Sonic's!" The Azure hedgehog backed away from it.  
"Oh no! Keep that thing away from me!" He frowned as he saw Rouge holding another case.  
"Is that your medal too?"  
"Nope! Look!" The treasure hunter opened the case to reveal 5 neatly cut diamonds, 7 rubies, and 2 emeralds. The group looked in awe as Shadow watched them. He inwardly grinned.  
  
Maybe living wasn't as bad as he thought.  
  
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Author's Note: There ya go! I hope I got their personalities right. I forgot to mention last chapter that Faith and Rapture are mine. And I got a few questions myself. What does STC mean? And I know that there's a certain name for the furries, Amthromorths or something. Can somebody tell me? Tell me how it was! This is Blackspeed_Mistress signing off! 


	4. New Chaos Begins

Author's Note: I give special Recognition to RockChick and, er, an anonymous reviewer who either forgot their name or wants to remain anonymous. They answered my question and gave me a new word! So...how do you like the fic? R&R to tell!   
Blackspeed_Mistress  
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Disclaimer: Okay! Fine! If you want a disclaimer, go to the first chapter and read! I AM NOT going to say that I do not own any Sonic characters except for Marika, Bradley Robotnik, Faith, Rapture, Youma, Damien, Doreen, and Airam.  
I just did, didn't I?  
  
One Fatal Mistake  
  
"Maria, you need to get inside!" Rapture commanded. She shot another hideous demon with a holy arrow. It gave a shriek and disintegrated to ashes. The things were everywhere! They had no real shape, just forms of anything imaginable. Their glowing red eyes searched for anything they could destroy, and their sights were set on Maria's house. The guardian shot another one that was flying in the sky.  
"Ok!"   
The blonde spirit dashed into the house and back to where her grandfather was. He looked up from his computer, apparently nervous, and glanced at Maria.  
"Are they coming?"  
"Yes. Rapture's holding them back for now. She needs help."  
Gerald nodded and turned back to the computer screen. He began again, this time faster, for the coordinates.  
A thumping on their door informed them time was up. Maria eyed the door while Gerald furiously typed away. He obtained the coordinates to the closest thing near Shadow, Maria's mother's house.   
"Maria! I got them!" He cheered. Of course, his granddaughter was preoccupied with other things, such as the door breaking down. The demons slowly made to their spot. Maria backed up in horror.  
"Grandpa! What are we going to do?"   
Gerald typed the coordinates of the designation and glanced to where Maria was standing.  
"Get back!" Maria backed up some more and found herself in a glass tube. The glass compartment closed leaving Maria trapped. She looked to her grandfather for an explanation.  
"You can go now. You'll be safer on Earth anyway. I'll meet you down there later. Don't stick around. Find Shadow first."   
He pressed the enter button on his keyboard, and Maria disappeared. Gerald turned to face the demons.   
"Why are you here? What do you want?" A violet beam crashed through the roof and into the floor. It took form of a pale man in black armor. He gazed at the professor and smirked.  
"My, my, we only want you to help us Gerald. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the lord of demons, prince of darkness, Damien."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Shadow awoke in the quiet room of Christine Chappell Hospital. He sat up without difficulty and looked outside. By the looks of the light sky, it was morning. Carefully unraveling his bandages, he got out of bed and ransacked the room for his gloves and shoes. The red streaked hedgehog found them by the dresser near his bed. He silently put them on, along with three of his bracelets, wondering why they hadn't burned up. Shadow then clasped the fourth bracelet on. It had been the one Sonic grabbed before he fell. Sonic and the others, they've done so much for him without even knowing it. He would have to repay them somehow. His thoughts drifted to the person who gave his bracelets.  
  
Without Maria, he wouldn't be alive. She gave her life for him and what did he repay her with?  
  
Nothing.  
Absolutely nothing.  
  
The door to the hall opened revealing the doctor. Shadow snapped out of his thoughts.  
"Mr. Shadow, how are you feeling?" he asked as he read the clipboard in his hands.   
"I'm fine." Replied the patient. The physician chuckled as his response.  
"I wouldn't call critical condition fine. But..." He trailed off as he saw the fully recovered patient standing in front of him. Shadow spoke again.  
"Will I be able to get out of the hospital?"   
His blue furred counterpart dashed into the scene.  
"Hiya Shadow! Hey, aren't you supposed to be in bed?"  
The red streaked hedgehog smirked as he walked out of the room.  
"One of the many advantages of being the ultimate lifeform."   
"Whatever you say faker." Sonic replied. They walked through the hallway and into the lobby. A few carpenters were clearing the rubble on the floor. Sonic caught Shadow looking at the mess.  
"Don't ask. We had a little problem with G.U.N. yesterday." His dark counterpart peered at him with a silent rage in his eyes.  
"G.U.N.?" He scowled. Hadn't they caused enough problems already?  
"Shadow?" He asked uncertainly. Shadow tore his gaze away from him with a serious expression on his face.  
"It's nothing." The rogue hedgehog replied. Sonic stood in front of him.  
"That look in your eyes didn't say that!" Shadow gently pushed him out of the way.  
"I don't want to talk about it, Sonic." His azure counterpart said no more as they exited the hospital.  
The blue hedgehog sighed as he looked at the cerulean sky. "It's a great day today, don't ya think?"  
Shadow nodded as he looked at his surroundings. Sonic continued to gaze at the sky for a couple of seconds before continuing.  
"I know! Think you can keep up?"   
"Let's find out!" He smirked. Sonic started through the city with Shadow closely behind. After a few minutes of running, Sonic stopped at a Two-story building.   
"We're here!" He exclaimed and walked inside. Shadow followed. They entered the lobby where an elderly anthropomorphic house cat was behind her desk. She looked up from her reading, spotted Sonic, and greeted him.  
"Hello Sonic! I haven't seen you in a couple of weeks!" Her blue eyes shifted to the other hedgehog.  
"Who's your friend?"  
"Hi Doreen," The blue hedgehog replied. "This is Shadow. So how are things goin' for the chao lately?"  
"They're doing fine. They'll be delighted to see you!" The cat tossed Sonic a blue key and went back to her reading. The two hedgehogs went upstairs.  
  
Shadow was amazed at what he saw. As far as he could tell, the walls and ceiling were endless voids of stars. He could scarcely determine there was a floor by the lines going through. Several transporters stood in the middle. Sonic stood by one, tapping his foot impatiently.  
"You coming?"  
Shadow fought back the overwhelming feeling and came. The two stepped onto the platform and Sonic placed the key in a hidden panel. In an instant, they were transported to another room with a similar design. There were two stairways, one up, one down. There were also two doors on the same level. Sonic proceeded upstairs with Shadow still following. They entered the doorway and found themselves outside. Sonic whistled, and the pandemonium began.   
  
Several creatures came running toward them. Each of them had the same basic shape with the exception of few, which looked older. They were all different colors ranging from a shiny white to a dull grey. All of them fawned over Sonic as he smiled and greeted them.   
"What are they?" Shadow finally got out. Sonic laughed.  
"You don't know what chao are?"  
"Well...no."  
"Chao are cute little pets you can raise. They're basically used for racing and stuff."  
"And you own all of these?"  
"No. I don't have time to raise a chao myself. These are other peoples' chao."  
Shadow surveyed the area. A few trees with fruit were scattered about. A gazebo was to the left with a ledge hanging over a pond. In the back of the pond, there was an area with a fountain. A chao stood on the platform, watching the others play with Sonic.  
"Who's that?" He asked. Sonic looked at the lone chao.  
"Oh, her? She came in about a month ago. All the chao love her, but she won't come near anything that slightly resembles humans."  
  
Two chao pulled Sonic away from Shadow. The now deserted hedgehog sat at the edge of the pond. His thoughts yet again drifted to why he was alive.  
  
He didn't get it. Why was he still down here? He promised Maria he would live. But for how long? How long will he have to wait to see his precious friend again?  
  
"Hello!" a high-pitched voice said. He looked beside him to find a chao a few feet away. Her white eyes were partially covered by magenta tufts of hair. Two horns were on her head along with a pink halo floating above. She had pink scaly arms with two claws at each end. Pink dragon wings were spread out in back of her, along with a fiery colored tail. Her light blue feet pattered slightly closer to him. It was the chao from the fountain.  
"Hello." He replied. She moved closer to the hedgehog so there was only a foot of space between them. Her smile turned into a slight frown.  
"You look lonely." She stated as she sat down. The red streaked hedgehog sighed.  
"I guess I am."  
"I lonely too," She replied. "Humans took me while I was in village. Took my friends away. Did humans take friends away too?"  
Shadow didn't reply. She waited a little while until she continued.  
"I sorry if you can't know what I say. Dragons never made me learn human talk."  
"You lived with dragons?"  
"Yep! And unicorns and phoenixes!" Shadow laughed from her happy expression.  
"Any others?"  
She gazed at the water with a distant look on her face.  
"There was raccoons and bats and another friend who was chao. He was took by humans too." She shook her head, as if to rid of those memories. "I made him promise we meet again. He's good promise keeper. I see him someday."  
  
Both of them sat there in a comfortable silence.  
"What's your name?" Shadow asked.  
"Dragon Prophet called me Airam! What's yours?"  
"Shadow the Hedgehog."  
"You remind me of chao friend. He look like you!"  
"And you remind me of my friend. She had pretty blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes."  
"Where is she?"  
"People took her away."  
"People take many things away."  
"Maria told me that people are good at heart."  
"Who's Maria?"  
"My friend who was taken away."  
"Oh."  
A blue hedgehog tapped Shadow on the shoulder. He stood up as Airam clung unto his leg.  
"Wait!" She cried. She looked up to Shadow with begging eyes.  
"I have to go now, Airam."  
"I know. Come back day after today?" The red streaked hedgehog looked at his counterpart. He nodded.  
"Okay."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
An old man tended to his vegetable garden this fine day. His dull blue eyes scanned for any fresh produce. Of course, today he would find something different. A pale girl lie unconscious on the ground by the sunflowers. He carefully stepped around the vegetable plants and gently shook the girl awake.  
"Are you alright?" He asked. She opened her eyes and shakily stood up.  
"I think so... Where am I?"  
"You're in my garden, miss." Her eyes slightly widened as she looked around.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't know where I was going and-"  
"That's alright. Do you live nearby?" She shook her head.  
"No. I live quite a distance from this place."  
"What are you doing so far from home?"  
"I'm looking for someone." She replied.  
"Who are you looking for? Maybe I could help?"  
"I'm looking for Sonic the Hedgehog."   
"My granddaughter can help you then. Please come inside, she'll be home soon."  
The old man led her inside the cozy home. All of it was new, yet familiar to her. The kind elder told her to sit by the table while he exited the room.   
  
"Grandpa! I'm home!" A voice called from another room. A blue-green cat anthropomorth came in. She placed the bags in her hand on the counter. Her eyes caught the visitor.  
"Oh, I didn't know we had a guest! Hello! My name is Marika." She greeted.  
"My name is Maria. Nice to meet you!" The girl replied.  
"So what brings you to our home?"   
"Well, your grandfather told me you could help me find Sonic the Hedgehog."  
"Why? Are you a fan or something?"  
"No. He knows where a friend of mine is."  
Marika pondered this for a moment.  
"Is your friend a hedgehog?"  
"Yes! He's black with red streaks on his spines and a white patch of fur on his chest. Have you seen him?" She silently pleaded Marika would know. The blue-green cat frowned.  
"Yeah, I've seen him. He doesn't look too good either. He lost alot of blood yesterday. It's a miracle that he could talk to us."  
"Can you show me the way?"  
"Sure. It's gonna be a long walk though."  
The two girls walked out of the house and onto the sidewalk, both thinking of different things. One mind on her friend, the other on the suspicious incidents.  
"Too weird," Marika thought as she silently walked. "First Project Shadow appears, then ARK, and now a girl named Maria shows up." She stole a glance at the girl behind her.  
"Blonde hair, blue eyes, she looks like the girl in grandpa's picture." She whispered in her thoughts. A question formed as her suspicions rose.  
"Hey, where do you live?"  
Maria paused for a moment, thinking of her answer. After a small hesitation she answered.  
"I live pretty far away from here. Do you know of Station Square?"  
"The place that was destroyed by Perfect Chaos? Did your house make it?"  
The blonde haired girl looked slightly relieved.  
"No. I'm living in a friend's house for now."  
Marika inwardly smirked as her suspicions were confirmed. No one takes that long to answer where they live unless they had amnesia or drunk.   
"Maria of the Space colony ARK, I found you!" She thought while they walked the rest of the way in silence.  
  
When they reached the hospital, the pile of rubble was slightly diminished and the workers were on a coffee break. Marika passed by the wreckage as if it wasn't there; Maria stared wide-eyed at it before moving on. They moved up to the desk where a nervous receptionist was waiting.  
"We're here to see Shadow the Hedgehog." Marika stated. The man typed on his computer and anxiously replied back:  
"I'm afraid Mr. Shadow checked out this morning." Marika blinked while Maria smiled.  
"You mean, to another hospital, right?"  
The receptionist shook his head.  
"No, I mean sent home. Actually I saw him myself walking out with Sonic the Hedgehog."  
The blue-green cat looked at him with shock as Maria giggled.  
"Shadow forgot that humans recover slower than he does."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I was sick all week and I seemed to have skipped a day... I MIGHT not be able to write during summer vacation because of family issues (I hate them with a passion). I'll try though. And I've been going back over the story to see that I might put the second category as angst. Maybe. As you can read, I put in the enemy after what? Three chapters? I was starting to wonder myself when I was going to put him in. Oh, and I don't know if chao can actually talk, but for the purpose of this story, they do. Sigh... This is Blackspeed_Mistress signing out! 


	5. You Love Little Adventures, Don't You?

Author's Note: Yeah, yeah, I know. "Why didn't you post the next chapter up sooner?!" is what you're   
probably thinking. Well, here's an answer for you.   
Life sucks.  
There ya go! (You probably have the same problem. Don't worry, we all do.)  
In other words, school has started, and I'll TRY to write more.   
Blackspeed_Mistress  
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Disclaimer: My life sucks. Oh, wait a minute, I already told you that. Ok then! One of the REASONS why   
my life sucks is because I'm friggin' poor! It means I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog. I only own Marika,   
Bradley Robotnik, Airam, Faith, Youma, Rapture, Damein, and Doreen. Are you happy now?  
  
One Fatal Mistake  
  
Knuckles the Echidna slowly leaned on the pillar of his shrine. He sighed contentedly and closed his eyes.   
His little adventure is done, and he was mighty grateful for it. Oh sure, he loves adventuring as much as the   
next person, but it takes a lot out of you. Especially the last adventure. That adventure was just plain odd.   
  
It started out normal enough. He was discussing with a bat about why it was not the best choice to take the   
master emerald. She insisted that it was hers to keep. Eggman came, tried to take the emerald away, forcing   
him to break it He had to search in a canyon, a mountain filled with ghosts, and water filled mines. Then he   
just HAD to meet up with Sonic and co. who where after Eggman. So he ended up searching a pyramid   
and a space colony as well.  
  
Sigh…anything to protect the master emerald from evil. He really needs a vacation.  
  
Knuckles instantly thought of a plan. Why not take the emerald with him? He can shrink it down to size,   
put it in his pocket, and leave for a nice long vacation! But then Angel Island would fall out of the sky and   
he'd have to come back. Damn.  
  
The Echidna settled for a nap instead of a vacation in hopes that he won't be going on an adventure for a   
long time. Of course, his well-deserved nap was cut short by yet another seeker of the emerald.   
  
"So this is the legendary Master Emerald. My, what a horrible place to put it!"  
Knuckles shot up and growled. The intruder was a man with black hair and armor. His steel gray eyes   
silently mocked the guardian while he smirked.  
"Who are you?"   
"Oh? You must be the guardian. How pitiful."  
Knuckles growled again as the man walked up to the emerald.  
"Unfortunately, I don't have time for you. Bye!"  
He touched the emerald and Knuckles dove for him. But to his surprise, nothing was there.  
  
He sighed again in frustration. Not only was the emerald taken, but he also had no clue where to look.  
What a wonderful vacation.  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Marika and Maria headed down the busy street in despair. With Shadow out of the hospital, they had no   
way of knowing where he was. What's worse is that they had to walk back to Marika's house! It took an   
hour to get there, and they were only halfway through. The blue-green cat lazily yawned.  
  
"I'm bored." She thought while surveying the area. A sky blue two-story building caught her eye. The cute   
little teardrop face stood out amongst the rest of the signs.   
"Oh! Maria, do you mind if we go in there," She pointed to the building for the blonde to see. "for a while?   
I didn't get to go in yesterday and they'll probably be mad at me if I didn't go in today."  
"I don't mind." She replied. Marika smiled and led her to the lobby. A house cat sitting at the desk was   
sowing a piece of cloth when they came in.   
"Hello Doreen!" Marika chirped. The cat jumped at her voice and sat up.  
"Gracious me!" She said, startled. Fixing her glasses, she looked at her guests. "Oh, hello Marika! My, you   
scared me! Any louder and my head would have hit the roof!" She chuckled and set down her sewing work   
as she glanced at Maria in the back. "It's been such a busy week!" She proclaimed and settled back down.   
Her eyes shifted to Marika again.  
"Thank goodness you came today. Kia was throwing a fit and poor Tom had to calm her down."   
Marika smiled. "Thanks Doreen."   
The elder cat tossed her a blue key and once again continued her sewing.  
"Good luck child. Kia will be so happy to see you!"  
  
The two continued up a flight of stairs and into a room filled with transporters. Marika placed the key in a   
hidden panel when Maria stepped on it. They were instantly transported to another room.   
"I'm going to go in there," Marika said while pointing to the gray doorway in front of them. "You're   
welcome to go anywhere you like, just as long as you don't leave without me, k?" Maria nodded and   
Marika took off.   
  
She looked at her surroundings, trying to take it all in. The place was decorated with bronze supports   
holding the starry roof, a set of glass stairs leading to a golden archway. In the middle, the walls were   
crystal clear glass, looking as if they were in space. The glass floor reflected the roof, only with shades of   
dark red, giving it a gloomy look. Glass stairs led down from the floor and stopped at a dark granite   
archway with purple flames lit. A blue archway on the first level made the point clear that it led to the chao   
kindergarten. She had yet to know what chao were.  
  
Figuring that the whole room represented the afterworld, she headed for the upstairs. She eyed the archway   
suspiciously.  
"How am I supposed to walk in without falling down?" She thought out loud. Maria stretched her arm into   
the archway. Her whole arm disappeared! She slowly walked in and found herself in a little utopia. Cute   
little creatures roamed around, each with a halo floating on its head. A few of them were lined up by the   
pond. One of the little creatures waved a flag and they dove into the water. They all were nearly tied until a   
creature with dragon wings and a phoenix tail swam ahead of the rest and made it to the other side. It   
crawled out and cheered for the others. They all made it to the other side in a matter of seconds. She   
smiled as all of them cheered for finishing the race. All of them moved away, except for one. It had a spike   
ball floating above its head, with two spines pointing back. The spines were adorned with flames as well as   
his arms and legs. A yellow crescent moon stood out on its black stomach. It approached the dragon   
winged one and spoke.  
  
"I know you cheated! If you hadn't, I would have won! Cheater! You give chao a bad name!" Maria was   
surprised that they could actually talk. The other calmly replied back.  
" I not cheat, Oni. Dragons taught me using dragon wings for swimming."  
"Dragons? I bet you lived with dogs!" Oni jeered. The other's eyes flashed dangerously.  
"What you say?" The other chao started crowding around.  
"You lived with dogs! Airam's a dog! Airam's a dog!" Airam growled dangerously.  
"At least I wasn't born stupid spineless wimp. Those who challenge dragon honor are fools." Oni threw a   
punch at her, but she merely dodged and glared at him.  
"That's it! I challenge you in a karate battle tomorrow! You'll regret calling me a spineless wimp!"  
Oni huffed away, past Maria and through the exit. The crowd dissipated and the chao named Airam swam   
toward the little island in the middle of the pool.   
  
Maria sat by the edge and inspected Airam a bit. The chao was sitting under the fountain of water, looking   
at the sky. She sat up all the sudden and hid behind where the water gushed out.   
"Are you okay?" Maria quietly asked. Airam meekly peeked her head out.  
"Human watching me. What do you want?"  
"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have stared at you like that. It's just that I haven't really seen a chao before."  
"Haven't seen chao before?" Airam repeated. She nodded and the chao emerged from her hiding place.  
"My name is Maria." She introduced herself. Airam swam across yet again and climbed to her side. She   
intently stared at the human before her for a few seconds and smiled.  
"You my friend friend!"  
Confused of Airam's repeated word, she decided that it was her way of saying friend.  
"Want to play game with me?"   
"Okay, what kind of game?"  
Airam pattered over to a tree, and pulled out some cards from a small hole in the trunk. She shuffled the   
deck to the best of her ability. Separating the cards in three piles, she wiped off the excess dirt off them.   
Two of them were slightly smaller, and the larger was placed on the ground. She placed one of the smaller   
piles in her hand.  
"We play old maid!" They played the game while talking. Airam told her about her life with dragons and   
some of her little adventures. Airam just put the cards away when another person came in and whistled.  
  
A chao with a shiny white coat and condor wings ran toward him. Airam hid behind her.  
"Are you afraid of humans?" Airam made an indignant face.  
"Humans no good. Take me away to garden. Take friends somewhere else."  
"Are all the other chao like that too?"  
"All chao in garden were born and raised by humans. They don't think humans are dangerous."  
"Well, it seems like the chao are happy." Airam shook her head.  
"I watch humans. Some good, some bad. Good owners treat chao nicely. Chao grow up to be angel chao.   
Bad owners hurt chao. Chao become mean, and turn to be devil chao, like Oni."  
Maria remembered the downstairs entrance in the room where her and Marika split up.  
"Why don't they take the chao away from the owner?"  
"Cause it depends on personality too. Can't tell the difference."  
"Then what is the garden in the middle for?"  
"For chao that are just born or neutral chao."   
"So you don't like humans because of that?"  
"Don't like humans because of what they take away."  
The way Airam thought about humans reminded her of Shadow after-  
"Maria!"  
A blue-green cat approached her and Airam.  
"I see you made a little friend! Come on, it's time to go." Maria nodded and stood up.  
"I'll see you tomorrow, alright Airam?"  
"Okay. Bye bye!"   
  
The two girls walked back to Marika's house. As they entered the living room, Marika looked at the clock   
sitting on the end table. The bright red glowing letters read 4:59 p.m., reminding her that it was almost   
time to eat. She thought of a slight problem.  
"Maria, do you have any place to sleep for the night?"  
The girl froze, realizing that there was no place for her to go.  
"Not…really…"   
"That's okay! I'll go ask grandpa if you can stay here!"   
"But I don't want to intrude or anything-"  
"Don't worry!" Marika said, pulling her into the kitchen, " It'll be fun! We haven't had any visitors in a   
while, I'm sure grandpa will agree."  
  
The elderly man walked into the kitchen from the back door. In his hands was a basket full of fresh   
vegetables. He set the basket on the counter and began washing the produce.  
  
"Hello Marika, Maria! How was your day?"  
"Okay," Marika replied. "Can Maria stay at our house until we find Sonic?"  
The old man thought about it for a minute, then agreed.  
"Alright. Show her around the house then."  
The cat jumped for joy and led her to the stairs.  
"Marika, please bring down my pocket knife!" The old man called. Marika yelled an OK and continued the   
tour. She led them up the stairs and down a hallway.   
"You'll be staying in my room, which is right here." She said while opening the door.  
Marika's room looked like something from a magazine. The walls were a turquoise color that reflected the   
sky blue carpet. Marika's bed stood in the corner by the open window with pastel blue curtains. A dresser   
littered with small trinkets and stuffed animals sat by the right wall. A picture of her and her grandfather   
hung on the opposite side. She closed the door and continued on.   
  
They passed a door on the right and Marika went into the next room. It was a simple room, with an end   
table on one side and a dresser on the other. The bed stood in the middle. Marika opened the drawer in the   
end table and shoved a few of its contents around.   
"This is Grandpa's room. Wait a minute, I gotta find his pocket knife." She closed the drawer, unaware that   
a pocket knife dropped out, and proceeded to the dresser. Maria picked it up and was about to claim she   
found it when she saw something on the end table. There was three framed pictures sitting there. One was   
of him and Marika when she was younger, one of what Maria thought to be his parents, and one she   
thought she would never see.  
  
She almost dropped the pocket knife out of shock.  
  
The picture she was gazing at was of herself and her grandfather, before the ARK incident.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
Author's Note: Sorry if my ramblings had put you off in the deep end, but my mom told me that I shouldn't   
be writing fanfiction! I got PISSED after that. So now I'm hoping to get back on track. Just a little question,   
do you think how to kick the bucket would be a good essay topic? No, I'm serious…. Don't look at me that   
way! Screw it, This is Blackspeed_Mistress, signing off! 


	6. Of Miracles that Happen

Author's Note: I got another chapter in! And 10000 words! And sugar! And hyperness! And- I'll stop. God, it feels good to be writing/typing fanfics again! Well, here we go!!! Blackspeed_Mistress ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Disclaimer: Me poor! Live in cave! No sue! Sonic characters no mine! Own Marika, Bradley Robotnik, Faith, Rapture, Youma, Doreen, Airam, Latrommi, and Damien. Ooga Booga!  
  
One Fatal Mistake  
  
"Hey," Marika said, glancing over Maria's shoulder "You found it!" She got no reply and caught a glimpse of what she was staring at. The cat gave a sly smile, and replied. "That girl looks a lot like you, Maria." A small 30-second pause was more than enough time to go into mental hysterics.  
  
"Who is she?" Maria let out. Her thoughts sped way over the limit. Why was her picture here of all places?! It's a big coincidence, right? That's just a picture of some other girl and her grandfather! She's seen bigger conspiracies before, is this just another one? Why? When? How? Where did grandpa take her?! The last one she thought had blinded all other questions in her mind.  
  
Where am I?  
  
"She was grandpa's sister and the older man was his grandfather. They died in a big accident before he was born. But if you would like to know her name-" Marika gently slid the old photo out of the frame and looked on the back. "-Her name was Maria Robotnik. What a coincidence, huh?" Marika slid the photo back into its rightful place She frowned as she saw Maria still in shock. That glazed look had been officially imprinted in her mind. "Are you okay?"  
  
Maria's eyes almost filled up with tears as she sat on the bed. She had a brother and never knew about him! Finding herself staring at the picture, she tore her eyes away.  
  
Marika frowned. She hadn't expected her to react THAT way. The cat sat down beside her and hugged the poor girl. "It's okay," She purred, "You must really miss your family." "I miss my old life." She cried. "I miss grandpa and my parents." More tears leaked out from Maria's eyes. "I miss Shadow!"  
  
Marika waited a few minutes and gently pulled away from the embrace. "Come on," She carefully said while standing up. "Let's go downstairs and help grandpa with dinner." She nodded and the two girls headed down to the kitchen. Marika's grandpa was slicing peeled potatoes into little cubes. "What took you so long?" He asked noticing their presence. His voice had a hint of playfulness to it "Any longer, and I would have come up there!" "Sorry, grandpa." She cheerfully replied. "We couldn't find your pocket knife fast enough." Maria handed him the knife and Marika gave her a playful wink when he wasn't looking. They each did a few separate tasks for preparing the meal. "What are we making anyway, grandpa?" Marika asked while chopping up the carrots with a small pairing knife. She dumped them in a bowl and placed it on the counter beside him. "Beef pot pie. You two can go ahead and do something else, I can finish up here."  
  
They exited the kitchen and entered the living room. Marika sighed, bored again. "What to do." She glanced at Maria who was looking out the window.  
  
"If you lived in a space colony all your life, what would you like to see? Nothing technical, that's for sure. What's the opposite of technology? Primitive. What's similar to primitive? Natural. Hmmm, natural. Nature! That's it! The park!" "Hey Maria, want to go to the park with me?" The girl immediately perked up and smiled. "I would love to!" "Great! Grandpa, we're going to the park!" "OK!" Came the muffled voice, "Just make sure you're back in an hour!"  
  
They exited through the front door and walked down the sidewalk. Maria sighed contentedly, now able to see actual life. "Well," She thought, "I did say I would go to Earth even if it killed me." They entered the park in a short amount of time. A few tall trees were scattered around with an occasional shrub standing here and there. Flowers lined up by the sidewalk that trailed through the land. With the sun setting in front of them, the colors fitted nicely.  
  
It was wonderful for any person to be there, but to Maria, it was like heaven.  
  
The smell of grass swayed through the wind. Crickets were chirping. Small animals scurried around to find a place to sleep before nightfall. Everything was so new to her! Her life on the space colony suddenly felt trivial.  
  
"I can see you're thoroughly enjoying yourself." Marika said with an amusing tone in her voice. Maria happily nodded as they continued on. Marika decided to sit on a spare bench while her companion remained standing. "I'm going to look around some more, if that's alright with you." Maria stated. The cat lazily stretched and closed her eyes. "That's fine. I'm just gonna take a nice cat nap. Wake me up when you're done. "  
  
So the blonde girl continued her journey through the park. She knelt down and gingerly plucked a blade of grass from the earth. Feeling the stringy weed between her skin, and smelling the fragrance of nature almost brought tears to her eyes. It was all so real.  
  
"I'm too used to living in an artificial environment. This.this is just overwhelming. I need to find Shadow." She thought. While standing up, she found graffiti on the sidewalk. The white markings were neatly placed in the middle of the square slab. She squinted her eyes and silently read.  
  
  
  
Never know what will come in life,  
  
Never know what to feel, Slip and fall onto the road of strife, And prepare to eat your last meal.  
  
Furrowing her brow in confusion, she walked to the next slab to find another cryptic message.  
  
Many of you take good life for granted  
  
I envy you, you see I wasted my life, hiding my love for him Don't waste your life, like me.  
  
"So it's a poem about a lost love." Maria thought. She traveled on to the third and final set of lines.  
  
I know, I've seen the future  
  
It is very, very grim I know, I've seen the past And I'll never see him again  
  
She grimaced for the person had to go through that kind of pain. Walking forwards, she noticed an oak sign by the sidewalk, a little ways from the written lines on the sidewalk. The girl silently read the black print to herself.  
  
"This poem was supposedly made in the 1600's, near the beginning of the Salem witch trials. The author was accused of being a witch after the colonists tried, and failed, to erase the message. She was hanged shortly after. Today, this writing inspires us to act before it's too late."  
  
Maria glanced back down at the inscription, and shivered. She could see the lady writing the poem with tears in her eyes, then grabbed by the executioner, forced to wear a thick rope around her neck, then feel the ground under her disappear while watching people laugh and insult her, then slowly choke-  
  
"Maria!" She scolded herself, "No more, or else you're gonna give yourself nightmares!" Taking a final look around, she decided to go back to Marika.  
  
By the time she had got back, it was dark with the familiar scene of stars in the sky. Marika sat on the bench and gently shook the cat awake. She yawned and sat up. "Nighttime already?" She asked while rubbing her eyes. Marika stretched, leaned on the bench, and looked up at the blackness.  
  
"I bet you the stars look better from space." She commented. Her question was carefree. Maria also leaned back to face the sky. "I think the stars look better here. In space, it's so cold and black. Here, you have the atmosphere to go along with it." The cat nodded. "Yeah, there are many things on Earth that don't exist in space." There was a small silence between them as the moon shone forth. Half of it was missing, leaving it to remind everyone of an incident from before. And it DID remind Marika, only of something completely different. She noticed that it looked like it was bitten. Like it was food.  
  
Her eyes widened in realization. She shot up from her seat and grabbed Maria's hand to pull her up as well. The cat ran with her guest behind, exiting the park, and nearly missing the large sign that read "Messenger's Park, 1895" in gold outline.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Bradley fit his hands into the oven mittens and pulled out the rectangular glass pan from the oven. The smell of fresh baked pie filled the kitchen. He placed it over the stovetop to cool off. The elder man pulled out a drawer filled with knives and picked a steak knife. He then proceeded to cut the pie into squares. Happy with his results, he sat down by the table. His granddaughter would be home any minute now.  
  
His granddaughter was growing up so fast. It seemed just like yesterday that he came to that orphanage.  
  
FLASHBACKS ALERT!  
  
A 40-year-old man could be seen entering a small building near the outskirts of town. Once inside, he went up to the desk and rang the bell. An old lady came up from the back and greeted him.  
  
"Hello, welcome to Peacekeeper's orphanage. How may I help you?" The man took off his hat as a polite gesture. "I'm here to adopt a child." He replied. The lady led him to the back, where 10 children where playing. A small red haired girl was crying in the corner while a boy, at least twice in height was towering over her, holding a doll in his left hand. Two other boys were behind.  
  
"Come on, Marcy," The boy sneered. The little girl trembled a little. "Take the doll. What, is little Marcy afraid?" The two boys laughed in back and the girl started to hiccup. "W-what's the p-point if you're gonna t-take her again, Josh?" She squeaked. It angered him that she replied. "I'll show you why-" "Why what? Why you're a snot nosed sissy, Josh?" A new voice rang. Josh turned around to meet the blue-green eyes of an anthropomorph. He narrowed his, trying to get the cat to back down.  
  
"None of your business, half breed." He spat. The cat had now narrowed her eyes as well. She reached up, grabbed his neck, and pulled him off the ground. "I WAS going to go nice on you," She hissed, "But calling me half breed was NOT the best thing to do." His pals, seeing a smaller person could pick on a bigger kid, ran off for their lives. The elderly lady came back in and saw this. "MARIKA! Put him down right now! What did I say about fighting others?" She scolded. Marika placed him on the ground. He dropped the doll and ran, crying. She narrowed her eyes a second time at the lady.  
  
"Then I suggest, MISS Margery, that you do your work for a change!" The lady huffed, and said no more. Marika turned to the frightened girl. She picked up the doll and gave it to her. "Sorry about that," She said, while picking the girl up to her feet. "Josh can be a real bully sometimes. You're new here aren't you?" The new girl nodded. "My name is Marika. Nice to meet you!"  
  
The man picked his choice, and returned to the front desk. The lady, now slightly annoyed, sat there. "I would like to adopt Marika, please." He said. Miss Margery almost fell off her chair and looked at the man as if he was alien. "Marika? You better know what you're doing then. She's ran away from several different homes, each of them being pretty good." She commented while handing him the papers. He filled them out and gave them back. She accepted them, and they traveled to the back room again.  
  
"Marika!" The lady called out again. Marika stooped talking to the small group of girls, and came over. She wearily eyed the old man. The lady continued.  
  
"This is your new foster parent. Please don't run away again." She walked out. The man talked for the first time. "My name is Bradley Robotnik. But you can call me grandpa." Marika looked at him suspiciously. "My name is Marika. Before we go, what rules are you going to set?" "The only rule you have to follow do what you think is right." He replied. He got a disbelieving look for the second time that day. "'Do what you think is right.' You gotta be kidding me! Do you know what that means?" She asked, shocked. "It means you can do whatever you want, just as long as you think it's right." "I ran away from a nice rich couple, an old maid, a young man, a divorced mother, and a poor farmer. But that is the very first time someone said that to me. What happens if I run away from you?" "Then you can go wherever you want. It's up to you." "...Let me get my things." She went to the other side and started to pack her belongings. One of her friends came up to her. "Marika, what are you doing? You never take your things with you." "I think this place might be a little different, Sarah. It might actually work out for me." She waved goodbye to her friends and left with him.  
  
On the way to her new home, she spoke, "You know what, grandpa?" "What?" "You're the first person to give what all of us really wanted in the orphanage." "And what would that be?" "Freedom."  
  
END OF FLASHBACK!  
  
The opening of the back door interrupted his trip down memory lane. Marika and their guest made their way into the kitchen.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
"Hotel, sweet hotel!" Sonic declared as he and Shadow entered the sweet. The room was huge, having a glass table near the window, a wide screen TV by the west wall with the couch in front of it. Tails was sprawled out on it, watching a movie. On the opposite side was a desk with a computer on it. Various other things filled the room.  
  
"Hiya, Sonic. Hi Shad-wait a minute! What's Shadow doing here?!" Tails asked. His full attention was now on the hedgehogs. "Shadow got better! Isn't that great Tails?" Sonic chirped. "Yeah, but.oh forget it!" He then turned back to his TV show. The azure hedgehog shrugged and turned to his counterpart.  
  
"What do you wanna do?" "I don't know. I thought you knew what to do." "Hey Tails, what do you wanna do?" "I have no clue, Sonic." "Hmmm. I know!" "Well?" "We can tell ghost stories!" "Sonic, what's the point in that?" "What? You afraid Shadow?" "That's it! Bring it on, Blueball!" "Can I join too?" "Sure Tails!"  
  
Once they had everything straightened out, they each took a blanket from the closet, a flashlight, and turned the lights out. They sat on the living room floor in a small circle.  
  
"So, who wants to go first?" One of them asked. "Ooooh! Me! Memememememememe!!" "Aww, but I wanna go first!" "Oldest first, Tails!" "But that means I have to go first!" "Ok then, second oldest!" "Fine, just start the damned thing!" "Language, Shadow. There's little kids here, you know!" "Hey!" "Shut up and go already." "Fine." Sonic turned on the flashlight and placed it under his chin. "Once, in a haunted field, there was a Twinkie!" "A Twinkie?" "Yes, a Twinkie! "What's so scary about a Hostess product?" "Lots of things, Shadow. Lots of things." You could see the light shivering, which meant that the holder was trembling as well. "For the love of the almighty!" "Language!" "Sonic!"  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
The next morning, Airam woke up with a start. She stood and stretched, looking around the familiar garden. She noticed, there were a lot more chao here than yesterday. "Stupid Oni, challenging dragon honor." She thought. "Oni doesn't need to get hurt anymore, but he challenged dragon honor. He's going to hurt himself."  
  
She jumped into the pond and swam to the other side. Many chao went to wish her luck. Although there was a few who were on Oni's side.  
  
"Dragon Dog! Dragon Dog!" They jeered. She growled and continued on. "Do they want me to challenge them all?! Latrommi was never like this." She thought as she stepped up onto the ring. It was a medium sized platform, with a line in the middle. On the other side was Oni. His father stood near him, off the platform for support. Airam learned a long time ago, to support herself. The omochao sat in a high chair off to the side. It called for everyone's attention.  
  
"This is not a tournament, but is still considered official. Begin!"  
  
The two stood there, on guard for the other's attack.  
  
"Oni," She called. "I no want to fight, but you challenge dragon honor. I fight hardest now. You need win." "You don't need to tell me to win, dog!"  
  
He wound up his fist and punched. She sidestepped it, and swept her foot into a roundhouse kick. Oni stumbled backwards quite a bit and fell. He pushed himself back up. He aimed again, this time feinting. It had gone as planned, and he hit her in the stomach when she blocked. It had nudged her back a little, giving him time to serve another punch. Airam blocked with her wings and delivered a punch to his chest. It knocked him out of the ring.  
  
"First round over! Airam wins!" A roar of cheers and some boos erupted from the crowd. Oni was pushed back up by his father onto the ring.  
  
"Ready? Fight!"  
  
In the next 5 seconds, a human came in. Airam froze as flashes of memories hit her mind.  
  
FLASH! The smell of wood burning filled her nostrils.  
  
"Not now."  
  
FLASH! A troop of men hoarded through the wreckage, with their jackets flapping. Three symbols were imprinted on the back.  
  
"Not when I'm fighting for dragon honor."  
  
FLASH! The dragon elder roaring for her to run right after he was beaten with a metallic stick the humans carried around.  
  
"Not when I'm against Oni."  
  
FLASH! Gripping onto Latrommi's black paw and promising to meet, before being torn apart by the humans. The last time she saw him ever again.  
  
He noticed that the human was keeping her occupied, as a black hedgehog coming in. Now was his chance. Oni attacked. And Airam snapped.  
  
"Oiciba sunis suvangi sinimoh omoh!"  
  
She caught the fist with her hand and kicked his stomach at the same time. Letting go of his hand, she slashed him across his face, not stopping her arm till her elbow crashed into his jaw. It knocked him to the floor, where she dug her foot between the mat and him. With a swift motion, the demon chao was airborne. Airam flew up and volleyed him back to the ground. She swooped downward with her elbows extended, and rammed painfully into his back. With the final blow, she dove again, landing on his body. Oni never had the time to counter, let alone breathe.  
  
None of the chao had EVER seen anything like that. Not even those who were masters at chao karate. That type of fighting was beyond what a chao would learn on its own.  
  
"T-t-t-t-t-he M-m-m-match g-goes t-to A-a-a-a-air-" The terrified referee passed out before he could finish. Airam had gotten off him and stood with her head bowed down to the floor. She quietly walked off the platform as others rushed to help the unconscious chao. The distressed chao dove into the crystalline lake to drown her turmoil and tears.  
  
A smooth voice called from above the liquid sanctuary. The dragon chao swam to the surface and looked for the one who called her name. It was Shadow, who sat by the bank as usual.  
  
"Hello." He said, with the faintest trace of a smile. She forgot her problems and crawled onto the ground by her friend.  
  
"Hello, Shadow." She voiced. "What was that fight bout?" "Oni challenge honor." "That wasn't a normal fight, was it? What did you say to him?" She laughed. It was not her normal, cheery voice. Most of it was filled with a type of sorrow that pitied any who heard. " I was taught by dragons to say to humans. Taught me meaning in human talk. 'Dishearten the secret heart, cowardly humans!" BRRRMM!!!  
  
The sound perked Airam's mood up dramatically as she hopped up and pulled Shadow with her. She pulled him to the edge of the garden and plopped down on her belly. She motioned the hedgehog to do the same and pointed downwards.  
  
"Neutral races start soon!" She cheered with enthusiasm. With the blare of the horn, they were off.  
  
During the race, Airam got an evil idea.  
  
She silently edged her way to shadow's side, making sure he was concentrating on the game. And ever carefully, she gently poked the side of his ribcage. His ears twitched and a silent giggle escaped his lips.  
  
If it were possible, the angel-turned-devil chao's smirk grew wider.  
  
She started tickling her friend with no mercy. Giggles turned to laughter, and laughter cracked into full-blown chaos. Shadow managed to roll out of Airam's grasp.  
  
"No.fair.you.cheat-AH!" He was attacked again before he could finish. Airam managed this time to get at his stomach. He flung her off after the torture and loomed over the chao.  
  
"Oh Aiiiraam!" He smirked maliciously at Airam. The dragon chao nervously laughed. He dove headfirst, only to catch air. Airam sat contentedly on one side of his back and tickled his side again. He gave up and took his torture, which was doubled by another hand.  
  
"Okay, okay! I give up!" Shadow heaved. Airam got off, and he rolled around.  
  
He definitely was not prepared for what he saw.  
  
Airam was there, smiling at him. That was normal. But behind her was Maria, smiling as well.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Author's Notes: Sorry it took about 2 months. Let's say I had some.problems in my nonexistent life. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Sorry! This is Blackspeed_Mistress signing out! 


	7. For a Perfect Moment

Author's Notes: I know, it's been a while. Eh, I have some complications right now. One of my problems happens to be about a fanfic/story (I really don't know what to call it) I wrote called I Beg of You! I keep writing it for no apparent reason. I don't care if you say if the story is bad or not. I just need opinions on what the story is about. You know, what the point is. I'm really mixed up right now and I need other people's help.  
  
To Vincent Valentine: I believe you are the first person to actually tell me of my mistakes. I thank you humbly for pushing me in the right direction. I am trying my best to write this fic, though I doubt I'll ever get my grammar and spelling right, even with the checks. At least I got the three-dot problem fixed...see?  
  
All right! Lets get this fic started!  
  
Blackspeed_Mistress  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any Sonic characters! I only own Marika, Bradley, Faith, Rapture, Yuma, Damien, Airam, Latrommi, and Doreen. Hah! You lawyers can't sue me for them!  
  
One Fatal Mistake  
  
Sonic sprinted around the chao world, looking for a certain black hedgehog. He wandered up the steps to the Hero Garden and entered through the doorway. A sound of laughter filled his ears to the right, and he saw Shadow laughing while hugging a girl with blonde hair. He raised an eyebrow at the two.  
  
"Now that's strange." The azure hedgehog thought. He was about to call out when a blue-clawed hand covered his mouth. "Mmph!" He turned around to find Marika smiling cleverly at him.  
  
"Leave them alone for now. Anyways, didn't you say you wanted to ask me something?" She asked. Sonic nodded. The cat uncovered his mouth and motioned to follow her. They traveled down the stairs and into the Neutral gardens. Once they were in a nice, secluded spot, they talked.  
  
"Okay. First," Sonic started, "How do you know of the eclipse cannon? I know for a fact that the news reporters never mentioned the name."  
  
"Well, maybe you should know my name first. It's Marika Robotnik." She lazily replied. The hedgehog's face was filled with shock. The cat mentally chuckled and continued.  
  
"Grandpa told me lots of stories. Especially of one about his sister, his grandpa, a hedgehog, and a space colony called ARK. Care to listen?" Another nod. "Good."  
  
"Once upon a time, there was a man name Gerald. He loved science, his creations, and most of all, his granddaughter. Now, when he had heard about his granddaughter's birth, he was ecstatic. Soon, little Maria came down with a mysterious illness. The doctors gave her a week. Gerald quickly devised a plan to take her up to the nearly completed space colony, and search for a cure. Maria's parents agreed to take the chance, and they were off. The virus Maria caught was put into comatose and had a checkup every two months. Gerald then started his research on the ultimate life form, immune of all viruses to make a vaccine. Progress was fast, and before long, the prototype was born."  
  
Sonic interrupted. "The bio-lizard, right?" Marika nodded.  
  
"Exactly! By Maria's fifth birthday, the bio-lizard was full-grown. The results were less than pleasing. After being injected with the virus, it collapsed. Gerald built a life support system for it and kept it in a secluded room for later research. He tried again. Progress was even faster, and in two years, The Ultimate Life form, Shadow, was born. Since he was much smaller than the previous experiment, Shadow was allowed to go as he please. He bumped into Maria one day while she was running on one of her little errands. They became fast friends and the two were almost inseparable afterwards."  
  
"What's this got to do with the eclipse cannon?" Sonic asked, impatient.  
  
I'm getting to that!" She snapped, and continued.  
  
"Anyway, by the time Shadow was old enough to try the virus, Maria was around 13. The virus was injected, and Shadow was sick for a few days. Everybody was worried, most of all Maria. Shadow recovered after about a week, and everyone partied. But the celebration was cut short."  
  
"G.U.N.?"  
  
"Oh, yes. Those despicable pathetic excuses trying to be military wannabes- "  
  
"I get the point! On with the story!"  
  
"Oh, right. G.U.N. ended up crashing in. Guess what they wanted?"  
  
"Shadow?"  
  
"Nope. They wanted the Eclipse cannon."  
  
"But in the diary, he had said the life form!"  
  
"He mistook them when they said they wanted his project, or pay. Gerald thought they meant Shadow, so he sent him and Maria to the escape pods. G.U.N. thought he sent them to get help, and they went after both of them. Maria was shot, Shadow escaped, and Gerald was captured. After seeing Maria's name on the list of casualties, he couldn't take it anymore. He had assumed, since Maria was dead, Shadow was too. His sanity slipped, and he turned to the prototype. He added toughness to its skin, and apparently, the virus mutated its genes to make a spitball attack. He named it Shadow, after the hedgehog."  
  
"Then what's the deal with Rouge's report? She only found the bio-lizard. Where are his records?" He asked. Marika smirked.  
  
"Oh, they're there alright. Only his records were handwritten. They're probably in his room somewhere."  
  
"How do you know all this?"  
  
"We had a...friend who retrieved these records, including part of his diary."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Executed, for giving aid to enemies."  
  
"Oh."  
  
A small silence crept over the two, mainly for Sonic to absorb the information.  
  
"Why was G.U.N. chasing you?"  
  
She huffed at the military's name.  
  
"Those spineless bastards keep hunting me down for no apparent reason! Sure, we got a few things from them, but we've done no wrong! Stupid, mindless, no good, son of a-"  
  
"Okay! Okay! I get it!"  
  
Once Marika had settled down, the hedgehog continued.  
  
"How do you have so much power? Punching a guy through a wall isn't quite normal." He spoke up. Marika hesitated, fiddling with her bracelet.  
  
"I don't really know. It's something I've had for my whole life. Well, as far as I can remember."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Rapture sat at the table with a small frown. Faith was lecturing again, this time about the attack Damien made. She said she was thinking of sending the angels to strike. Youma sat there, quiet as usual.  
  
"What do you think?" The stern leader demanded. The grim reaper shook her head while Rapture smoothly voiced for them both.  
  
"No good. The lord can't loose any angels at this time. We'll have to wait for M-"  
  
"Hi everyone! How were things while I was away?" A woman exclaimed, interrupting Rapture in the process. She wore a tight fitting green dress that billowed out to her ankles. Her light green eyes glanced around to everyone, partially covered by her black bangs. Her hair was braided and hung down to her knees.  
  
"It can't be too good if we're sitting around this table."  
  
"Hello, Terra!" The pink haired guardian greeted. Youma smiled at her.  
  
"When did you come back?" She asked casually.  
  
"Just now, big sister! You wouldn't believe how long it took me to block up the Nile-"  
  
"We were just going over the plans for a counterattack, Terra." Faith butted in.  
  
"My, why is it that I always miss the most exciting things while I'm away?"  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
"Geez, Sonic! Where are you?"  
  
Knuckles exclaimed in frustration as he glided to the ground. He landed and took off on foot, weaving through the people on the sidewalk. A white bat blocked his way.  
  
"Out of my way, thief." Knuckles snarled out of impatience. Rouge smiled a little at his little outburst.  
  
"Well, treasure hunter, what are you searching for this time?" She asked. Knuckles refrained from throwing a fit and replied somewhat calmly.  
  
"I need to find Sonic." Rouge nodded in thought.  
  
"Let me come with you."  
  
"What?! But I-"  
  
"I need to talk to him too. Who knows? I might be of some help."  
  
The treasure hunter sighed and agreed. Rouge grinned, and they were off.  
  
The duo ran through the crowded streets, looking for any sign of the blue hedgehog. Rouge distinctly smelled oil, indicating that there was a garage nearby. She nearly ran past it, spotting a blue mech with two tails painted on the side. She abruptly stopped, sliding a little on the pavement.  
  
"Tails?" She called. The kitsune looked from behind his mech. His fur was smudged with oil, and he had a wrench in his hand.  
  
"Hi Rouge! What can I do for you?"  
  
"Hey Tails, where's Sonic?" She asked, just as Knuckles entered.  
  
"Sonic? He's with Shadow at the Chao Garden."  
  
The bat nodded. "Thanks. Let's go, treasure hunter." Knuckles ignored the nickname to think of what Tails just said. They ran off again.  
  
"What's this about Shadow?"  
  
"Shadow survived. A cat named Marika found him. Come on, it's right there."  
  
After receiving a key from the receptionist, the two entered Chao world and split up to find Sonic. Knuckles decided to look in the Neutral garden while Rouge checked the Hero garden.  
  
"Geez, there's a lot of Chao here!" Knuckles muttered. He noticed there were quite a few in the place. Most of them were surrounding a blue hedgehog.  
  
"Sonic!" He called. Knuckles ran up to him in record time. The hedgehog looked up, as well as a blue-green cat nearby.  
  
"Hi Knuckles! What are you doing here?" He asked. The echidna jumped at the chance.  
  
"The Master Emerald has been stolen!"  
  
"What?! Who took it?" Knuckles shook his head.  
  
"I don't know. This man with black armor and grey eyes just came up and teleported with it."  
  
"Damien." The cat spat. Both of them looked at her.  
  
"Marika, you know him?" Sonic asked. She shook her head, now confused.  
  
"No, I don't. When you described him, a name just popped up in my head-"  
  
"Hey guys, what's with Shadow? He's laughing and playing, and won't leave this girl alone. It's...kinda creeping me out." Rouge said, entering the conversation. Marika smiled.  
  
"That's his old friend, Maria. He's just really happy, I guess."  
  
Sonic nodded, but had a serious look on his face.  
  
"We should go to somewhere safe and talk about this problem more."  
  
"But what should we do about Shadow? He might not be the best hedgehog in the world to talk to if we break up the happy moment." Knuckles quipped. Everyone looked at each other.  
  
"Rock paper scissors, anyone?"  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Shadow lied happily on the grass beside Maria. His life was perfect! Maria's back, he made friends with Sonic and co., and nothing was going wrong. Everything was wonderful.  
  
"Hey, Shadow?" the light voice called. He turned his face to Maria, and ended up being soaked with water. He growled playfully as his friend giggled. Though she forgot something. Being a hedgehog, he shook his fur, and the water was sprayed all over her. She squealed in surprise, and laughed. However, their happy moment was interrupted.  
  
Marika nervously fiddled with her bracelet as she walked up to them. Avoiding stepping on the sleeping Airam, she made her way to the happy couple.  
  
"Err, Maria, we gotta go." She squeaked, hoping that the hedgehog wouldn't attack. Maria nodded, but Shadow grabbed her arm and glared at Marika.  
  
"Shadow, you gotta come too. Sonic and them are coming to my house to discuss Knuckle's problem." She added quickly, causing him to nod.  
  
"Okay. Sonic should be done calling Tails, so we're gonna go soon."  
  
After the group reassembled themselves, they headed to the cat's house. When they reached the garden, Marika stopped.  
  
"Well, guys, this is it. Thanks for taking me on one of the best adventures I've had!" Sonic winked.  
  
"It's all in a day's work!"  
  
Marika smiled, and then remembered something. She took off her bracelet, and gave it to Maria.  
  
"Think of it as a farewell present. You're like a sister to me. I wanted to give it to you before I forgot."  
  
The girl accepted it and clasped it on her wrist. The cat paused for a moment, then shook her head.  
  
"What's wrong?" Marika, still dazed, replied.  
  
"I know why G.U.N. keeps chasing grandpa and I now. Since we are related to Robotnik, they want to get rid of any future problems."  
  
"You're right. Allow me to do that now!" a fuzzed voice from behind retorted. Everyone turned around to face a mech. The G.U.N. symbol was painted on the side. Two large hover jets were attached to the back. You could see the pilot inside the thick glass cockpit, glaring at them all.  
  
Sonic and Shadow sped toward him at an instant. Before they could hit, the mech jumped into the sky and hovered past the rest.  
  
"It's fast!" Sonic replied. The pilot directed it back towards them. Bullets shot out of the rapid gun dangerously close to the group.  
  
"Maria!!" Shadow cried as he zipped past everyone and pulled her behind him.  
  
He saved Maria, but not himself. The last bullet had pierced his through his skin above his stomach.  
  
The hedgehog slumped to the blood-soaked ground in pain.  
  
"SHADOW!"  
  
Maria was at his side in an instant. She gingerly placed his head on her lap. Shadow looked at her with glazed eyes.  
  
"...Maria...are you...all right?" She nodded, failing miserably to keep her tears in. He shakily raised his hand and wiped her tears away.  
  
"Don't...don't cry, Maria...It kills me...to see you cry..." He chuckled, and started to close his eyes. The girl cried out.  
  
"Shadow! No, Shadow! Don't close your eyes! Stay here with me! Don't die! Don't die..."  
  
He whispered her name for the last time, and slowly drifted away.  
  
"SHHHHHHAAAAAAADOOOOOOOOWW!!!"  
  
Her voice echoed throughout the city, and rung in everyone's hearts. There was nothing more than a quiet calm.  
  
There was nothing more than a deathly silence.  
  
And in that deadly silence, a mocking chuckle bubbled out from the cold, sadistic G.U.N. soldier.  
  
Marika suddenly froze. Everything was clear now. All of her memories flooded her mind. It all made sense.  
  
Forming a small ball of light between her hands, she glared at him through the tinted glass.  
  
"Time to die, buddy!"  
  
She thrust the ball of light towards the soldier and let go. It shot into the mech and engulfed it with a brilliant blue radiance.  
  
All that was left was a pile of dust, blowing away with the wind.  
  
~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Author's Note: I know, there's a cliffy at the end. And you're probably dying to know what happened to Shadow too. Well, you're going to have to wait! This is Blackspeed_Mistress signing out!  
  
P.S. Don't tell me it was corny. I know already. 


End file.
